Akira
by Silverfox3220
Summary: A cold chill creeped down her back as she recalled the moment he cut her down. The look in his eyes was that of a cold, calculated killer. Suddenly, Akira was very frightened of the man she called 'friend'. summaries suck, see for yourself!
1. Chapter 1

Bleach- Akira

*Chapter 1- Betrayal*

(Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, but Akira and her lovely companion Hikaru are mine =))

*Karakura*

Akira didn't think she'd ever curse the rain that fell, but she did as she made her way to the meeting place her best friend relayed to her before the captains meeting held by the head captain. Her elegantly placed lips were set in a frown as she remembered why she was even here.

_"Aizen? What's the matter?" Akira made her way over to her best friend and comrade, Souske Aizen. Her bright blue eyes relayed concern over his disposition. "Don't you have the captain's meeting soon? Shouldn't you be on your way?" She questioned, absently running a hand through her long ebony hair. Aizen looked down and nodded, adjusting his glasses. "Meet me in the world of the living this time tomorrow. I need to talk to you about something." Akira's eyebrows creased in concern. When Aizen's tone was serious, he wasn't joking around. _

_ Concerned, she put a delicately manicured hand on his arm. Nodding, she replied, "Yeah, no problem Aizen. You can count on it." Aizen's face was grim. "I cannot say much more, but you need to tell nobody we are meeting. I'll send you details later." He looked around, as if he was suspicious of anyone listening. He continued, quieter then before. "I have to go to the meeting, but I will see you tomorrow Akira." His face was grim as he turned around and walked away as Akira watched after Aizen's retreating form. Little did she know that he was smirking. Akira's Zanpakutou didn't like it one bit._

_ "And I still don't like it, Akira."_ A deep and almost relaxing voice held a tinge of disappointment. _"That man is never up to any good."_ Akira snorted. "You just over analyze Hikaru." She whispered to her Zanpakutou, her feet sloshing through the rain that made splashes upon the ground. She took a deep breath, savoring the smell of the rain, and to calm her nerves. Humming to pass the time, she arrived at Aizen's meeting spot. Looking around and seeing that Aizen wasn't there yet, she took her place against the nearby wall and waited for her friend's arrival. "Be careful Akira." Her zanpakutou was wary. Akira felt wary too. "Yeah, yeah." She whispered as she tucked a piece of her long hair behind her ear and kicked a nearby box. With a sickening squish it landed in a nearby water puddle.

She could feel his presence when Aizen arrived in a flash across from her. "Aizen." Akira spoke as she pulled away from the grimy wall that she was leaning on. Aizen sighed. "Forgive me Akira. I wanted someplace away from the soul society to talk. You know how they are." Akira smiled as she adjusted her Shihakusho. "Of course I know how they are. What brings you to drag us out into the world of the living for? Especially in this run down alleyway that just looks something awful." She wrinkled her nose and looked around with disgust. "Honestly wouldn't you think that people would get murdered here?" She chuckled._ "Yeah great joke Akira." _Akira snorted. _"Shut it Hikaru."_

He went straight to the point. "I will overthrow the king of soul society." Akira froze, not believing what she was hearing. A couple of seconds passed before she snapped out of her stupor. Shocked, she walked over to Aizen and grabbed his arms, looking into his eyes. "You... Want to overthrow the king of soul society! That would require the key! It's not possible!" Her eyes widened in shock as Her hands tightened around his Shihakusho. "Please tell me you're joking!"

To her displeasure he merely smiled. "I can create it." His tone was so deadly serious and so unlike him that it made her back up, unbelieving. "So." She got quieter. "You're saying you want to create the kings key?" She whispered, placing her hand absent mindedly on her chest over her heart. "That's impossible!" She looked at the ground, biting her lip in anxiety. _"Careful what you say here Akira. Every action will be calculated by him. And whatever you do prepare for the worst and don't hesitate to call upon my aid. Remember what I tell you Akira! You can't ignore me this time about him!"_

His eyes looked crazed. "I can create it." Akira looked back up at Aizen, even more unbelieving at what she was hearing. "And what will happen to create the king's key? It requires vast power!" Aizen only sighed and pointed at the sky. "100,000 souls should suffice. They are only sacrifices needed to build the new world with me as its leader." He smirked.

Akira put a hand on Hikaru. _"You're right Hikaru. This isn't the man I know that is standing before me. This is someone else entirely." _Her Zanpakutou was silent, as if brooding over what would happen next. Her voice was shaky, even to her. "Karakura... That's what you're after?"

His eyes she noticed, were no longer the kind and warm eyes that she knew so well. _"Momo would be displeased." _She thought with a sigh. _"She probably won't believe me anyway, seeing as he has her wrapped around her little finger."_

She backed up, wary. Aizen noticed her disposition and frowned. "Out of all the people in this world Akira, I thought you would understand. You out of every forsaken fool out here!" He motioned with a wave of his hand Karakura and to the sky where the soul society was. Akira backed away slowly, frowning. _"Hikaru, this isn't the Aizen I once knew. When did he change? When!" _ Her Zanpakutou seethed in her head. _"Release me Akira! Do it now! He will not hesitate to kill you now! He is past no return!"_

_ "No Hikaru! I will not give up on my friends, I don't plan on starting now!" _ "Aizen? This isn't like you! Please, listen to me! I care about you I really do, but what you're saying is wrong! The kind Aizen I know wouldn't speak of such things! He would want to help! He would believe in what was right!" Her voice was breaking up as tears started to build up, blurring her vision. A breeze picked up, blowing around her already soaked hair. He chuckled, causing her to step back further. "Isn't like me?" He drew his Zanpakutou. "Since when did you ever know who I was? Who are you to judge me! You insignificant bug!"

Akira's blood ran colder if that was even possible in her opinion. Akira drew her Zanpakutou, her blade seeming to reflect the brilliance of the sun only for a second despite the dreary day. "We grew up together Aizen! How can you draw your blade against me? I thought that-"

"No Akira, you don't think." She never saw the blade coming. Her eyes widened in shock as she dropped Hikaru and her hands flew to her chest. Struggling to stand for a couple of seconds took up more strength then she realized and she fell to her knees. "Ai...zen... No..." She coughed up blood and whimpered. _"He... Actually did it Hikaru.."_

Hikaru was screaming in her head. _"I'll kill that bastard Aizen for even laying a finger on you! I'LL KILL HIM!"_

Aizen chuckled and walked past the wounded shinigami, already sheathing his zanpakutou. "Farewell Akira. We will not meet again." He disappeared, not even leaving a trace of himself behind. Akira cried out in agony as she held her wounded chest which blood seemed to pour out with every breath. She fought consciousness as her blood poured down her fingers in rivulets and dripped to the ground mixing in the rain that fell in sheets. She fell backwards, unable to support herself any longer, and with a splash she crashed to the ground gasping with every breath as tears slowly leaked down her face. Akira was trying to grab much needed oxygen into her lungs as darkness stole her vision and robbed her of her breath. The last thing before she was swallowed up was the dreary sky.

_"I'm sorry."  
_

***Somewhere near Akira***

He could feel the spiritual pressure fluctuate, then disappear altogether. Ichigo; The substitute soul reaper, ran through the back streets of Karakura town with Rukia, whom was looking for the mysterious spiritual pressure that he did not recognize. Rukia looked worried. "Hurry Ichigo, we have to find her!" He noted the her. "You know her Rukia?" She nodded, her eyes narrowed in concentration and remembrance. "Yeah, She's and old friend. She helped to teach me at the academy and even afterwards." Rukia smiled. "She's one of my good friends Ichigo."

He could only nod. "Right." They turned the corner and froze in their spots. Rukia cringed and ran to the crumpled figure on the ground, whose blood pooling around her and running down the nearby gutter drain. her long black hair was floating around her, mixing in with the blood. A long gash from her collarbone down to her waist decorated her body. Rukia knelt down next to her friend and hurriedly checked her pulse. She breathed a sigh of relief upon discovering she was still alive. Rukia looked at Ichigo, who was frozen in place. "Idiot! Help me carry her!"

"G...Got it!" Ichigo ran over to Akira and gently picked her up cradling her in his arms. Rukia looked around, noting their location. Her voice wavered. "It's a good thing that we are so close to Urahara's shop!" Rukia's violet eyes landed on Akira's form in Ichigo's arms or a moment before looking away. "We should hurry!" After picking up Akira's sword that Akira dropped earlier, they took off in the direction of Urahara's shop, with Ichigo gently carrying Akira as he ran after Rukia. He couldn't help seeing what was in Rukia's eyes the moment they landed on her friend. _"Lets hope we get there in time to save her." _ His eyes shone with determination. No, they would get there in time to save her. He would make sure of it.

After a couple of minutes of running in silence, they arrived at Urahara's shop. Not wasting any time, they threw open the door and ran inside. "OY! HAT AND CLOGS! SOMEONE'S INJURED AND NEEDS YOUR HELP!" Smiling, Urahara met Ichigo and Rukia. "Ah another customer? Follow me." He led them to the back room in the shop and opened the door. "Set her down here, I have a bed ready for her."

Ichigo set Akira down on the bed, and Urahara checked her vitals. "Not good. I'll do what I can, but we need Orihime." He frowned as he got some bandages and medicine from hidden stashes in the cupboards. "But she's not here!" Ichigo looked down at the delicate pale face of Akira, who was looking worse every second that passed. Rukia stood up after kneeling next to Akira. "I'll get her." Rukia looked at Urahara and he nodded, signaling her departure. Ichigo paced the room, watching Urahara tend to Akira. _"Damnit! What can I do?"_

Darkness. That was all that was around her, eating up her mind and swarming into her soul. Akira panicked and struggled to move, but it felt as if she were being held down by something invisible. _"Hikaru! Hikaru, where are you! Answer me!" _Silence answered her pleas for help. _"HIKARU! Damnit! I need your help! HIKARRUUU!"_ There was still no answer as she still struggled against the darkness. Akira vaguely wondered if she was dead. _"Akira..." _A voice called out to her. As she was wondering who it was, Akira was suddenly grabbed and thrust into another world.

Akira opened her light blue eyes to a stormy world that she recognized so well by now. _"My... Inner world." _She thought as she stood up and looked around. A vast meadow surrounded her, but instead of it being peaceful like it should of been, it was instead a dreary dark world. She shivered, it was drizzling. Even the plants and the grass looked pathetic. Akira frowned and crossed her arms. "You can come out now, Hikaru. Unless of course you like to see me this way." She snorted. "Sadist."

"Hey, hey! You don't have to put it like that you know." A figure materialized in front of her. His tone of voice changed. It sounded disappointed. "I told you not to trust him Akira." He ran a hand through his short brown hair as he glared at her through his sharp indigo eyes. He adjusted his outfit, which consisted as orange undershirt with a black vest, black dress pants, and lastly black dress shoes. He slowly walked over to her. He sighed as she looked up at him because he towered over her, with him being about 5'9'' and she was only 5'3''. "I'm trying to keep you alive Akira. You're lucky to have such a caring Zanpakutou."

She snorted. "Yeah, sure you are." Her eyes softened as she looked at the ground, her mood suddenly changing. The scene with Aizen kept playing over and over in her head, her mind still reeling over his betrayal. "Aizen he..." She trailed off and started to sniffle. Hikaru's eyes softened when he saw what was happening. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey-"

He didn't get a chance to continue as she started to cry into his shoulder. He just put his arms around her and sighed. "Alright, I forgive you. Just be careful next time okay? I don't want you to get hurt because of that bastard again." The wind picked up even more as she sobbed even harder. "Why! Why did he do that Hikaru! I thought he cared after all we have been through? He talks about killing thousands of people as if it were nothing!"

"That's just it Akira, he doesn't care! He might seem kind on the outside, but on the inside he is a cruel, calculating man with an oversized ego and an I will become god complex!" After a while of crying and Akira mumbling hundreds of he's not like this, he grabbed her chin and tilted her head up to look at him. Akira's eyes were red and puffy from crying so hard. "No more tears." His voice was soft. "You're better than this Akira." He smiled his trademark smile all full of warmth and she slowly nodded back at him, sniffling.

"Okay." She said after a moments silence occasionally interrupted by her sniffling. "I promise. Thank you for always being there for me Hikaru." she looked up at him as he smiled his trademark smile that was all full of his warmth and kindness. Akira nodded and slowly faded away to reality, leaving Hikaru alone in her head. "I promise Akira, he will pay." He whispered, clenching his fist. "He will atone for what he has done to you, that I will assure you of." He then faded away, returning to the back of her mind, concentrating on keeping her sane and alive.

Akira opened her mouth, and all that came out was a wheeze. She cracked one eye open, and all she got was blurry vision. "She's coming back now that Orihime is healing her." Urahara nodded. "You're doing great Orihime." "Th..Thanks Urahara. I'm trying." Orihime wouldn't admit that it took a large amount of concentration on her part, or the fact that she has had very little understanding or training in her powers because she was too kind for that. Orihime turned her concentration back to healing the female shinigami. "She will be safe now right?" Ichigo questioned as his concerned brown eyes landed on Akira.

Urahara nodded. "Yes, she should recover now that Orihime is healing her. She would still have somewhat of a scar though." Rukia stared at Akira's slowly breathing form. "Is she trying to talk?" Rukia noted, seeing as Akira's mouth was slowly moving. "Yes, but she is half conscious. She's fighting, which is a good thing." Rukia nodded. "Thanks." Urahara smiled, shielding the bottom half of his face with his fan. "It's quite all right." For a while, the only sound that could be heard was the sound of Akira's breathing and the soft sound of Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka's spell Sōten Kisshun working its effects on the shinigami.

Frowning, Ichigo took a seat next to Kisuke and was watching the injured shinigami intently. "You know Ichigo, if you stare at her long enough she might grow a third head." Rukia sniggered. Ichigo's reply was cut off by Akira's sudden coughing. Slowly opening her eyes, Akira opened her mouth to say something, but all she got was a wheeze. "Careful now Akira, you've been injured badly." She recognized the voice as Urahara's.

"Kisuke... I suppose I owe you for saving my life?" She whispered. Kisuke grinned. "You owe Orihime, Ichigo, and Rukia for saving your life Akira." Akira closed her eyes, as the glow of Orihime's powers were starting to hurt her eyes. "Thanks." She whispered as she fell back asleep. "Don't mention it." Ichigo said, frowning as he noticed Akira falling back asleep. Rukia slapped Ichigo on the arm. "Hey what was that for!" Rukia smiled. "Nothing."

Ichigo snorted. "Right, I'm suuurreee it was nothing." He rolled his eyes at her as Rukia stuck out her tongue at him. Orihime smiled as the glow faded from her powers and her hairpins returned back to normal. Muttering a small thanks, she turned to address the rest of the room. "She's just sleeping now, so she should be fine." "Thanks Orihime!" Urahara exclaimed. "Its nothing, ah hah hah hah!" Orihime laughed nervously as she was not used to Urahara giving her a thanks. "You all can go home now that she isn't in such a critical condition." Urahara said as he stood up.

Ichigo, Rukia, and Orihime walked to the door with Urahara. Orihime bowed to Kisuke. "Good night then, Urahara-San." Ichigo nodded as he left the shop with Orihime, leaving Rukia with Urahara. "Thanks for your help Kisuke. I'll be back later to check up on her." Rukia left the shop, leaving Urahara with the unconscious Akira. He sat down next to Akira with a sigh. "You sure got yourself into something else Akira."

***3 days later...*  
**

Akira awoke to the sound of the rain. Groggily, she turned her eyes to the ceiling. She frowned as she recalled what had happened with Aizen. _"He cut me down didnt he..." _Her hand hit the ground in anger. _"He won't get away with this. I will see for my own eyes, his reason why for why he did this. He..." _She sniffled as a tear leaked down her elegantly sloped cheekbone. It didn't go unnoticed. _"He will pay for what he has done!"_ Her mind was made up then, on that dreary day in a small room in Urahara Kisuke's shop. She would stop Aizen with her own two hands, she would ask him why. If only her heart would agree with her. A voice interrupted her from her dark thoughts. "You're awake I see."

Akira looked over to Kisuke as he entered the room, her expression unreadable. He sat down next to her and was silent. Akira looked back towards the ceiling and frowned. "How long has it been Kisuke, since I last saw your face?" Her voice was hoarse. He smiled as he hid his face behind that annoying fan of his. "Far too long, Akira." She smiled as she sat up slowly, the vertigo momentarily making her dizzy for being still for so long. "Ugh..." She groaned as she placed a delicate hand on her forehead. "How long was I out for?"

"About three days. Rukia has checked in on you every day since you've been asleep recovering from your wounds to see if you've awakened yet." Akira sighed. "Three days." "Akira." Urahara snapped her out of her thoughts. He was worried, this wasn't the shinigami he once knew. "Huh? What is it Kisuke?" Akira looked at Urahara in curiosity. "Rukia, Akira."

"Oh yeah, when will she come back?" Akira laid back down, breathing a sigh of relief. "Actually, right about now." Urahara smirked as Rukia entered the room. "Urahara, has there been any change in..." Rukia stared at Akira as she sat up again and gave a little wave. "Hey shortie. It's been a while yes?" Smiling, Rukia walked over to Akira's bedside and sat down. "Is...Is it okay if.." Akira smiled. "Yeah shortie, go ahead." Rukia gave Akira a hug. Akira chuckled. "It's good to see you again Rukia." Thus the happy reunion was interrupted by Rukia smacking Akira in the back of the head. "Ow! Rukia what was that for!"

"For being such a moron!" Rukia's face seemed to get redder by the minute. "Moron? How am I a moron?" Akira frowned as Rukia huffed. "Because you got yourself injured and almost killed if I hadn't been around to save your sorry butt!" Akira looked away, ashamed. "Yeah. Thanks for saving me Rukia." Rukia smiled. "It's okay. Just promise me I won't have to it again next time." Akira ruffled Rukia's hair. "Okay shortie, I promise."

Akira laughed. "Its okay. Help me up okay? I need a shower." Rukia stood up and offered a hand to help Akira up. "No problem." Once Akira was on her feet she looked at Urahara. "Hey Kisuke, do I have my just in case stuff here since I was last here? Seems you found my gigai too seeing as I'm in it again."

"Yeah your stuff is in the storehouse Akira, I'll go get it." Urahara got up and went to the storeroom to get her stuff. Akira placed a hand on Rukia's shoulder. "Thanks again Rukia, I owe you my life like always." Akira's eyes shone with gratitude.

"Pfft, don't mention it. You always find a way to pay me back." Rukia smiled. "Besides, you can always accompany me on patrol." She winked and Akira laughed. Urahara decided it was time to drop in. "Okay Akira, here is your clothing." He handed Akira a box of clothing. "Here you go."

Akira took the box gratefully. "Thanks Kisuke. I knew you would find them." She smiled. "Especially since I haven't been here in quite some time." The fan was in front of his face again. "You know where everything is!" Akira nodded. "Of course." Akira walked to the door leading out of the room. "Thanks for everything Kisuke." She gave a warm smile before walking out. It didn't reach her eyes.

Rukia sighed. "I just hope she will be okay." Urahara's eyes glanced over, meeting Rukia's eyes. "Me too. Oh! I just remembered." He paused, earning an 'oh'? from Rukia. "We need to talk about your transfer of powers to the boy Ichigo." Rukia sighed, it was going to be a long evening.

*With Akira*...

Akira shut the door to the bathroom and turned on the lights. She placed her stuff with the essential bath stuffs that she still had stashed in the shop. Stripping of the thin nightgown Urahara put on her gigai when he put her shinigami soul in it, she turned on the water to the bath, her thoughts swarming in her head. As the water filled the tub, she looked into the mirror on the wall, taking in her reflection.

Akira's complexion was pale from her encounter with Aizen, as her body was still trying to finish healing. Her face was elegantly shaped, her cheekbones high and her face long. Her raven colored hair was matted to her face and down her back. Akira examined her light blue eyes and she grimaced as she saw dark circles under them. _"Despite being asleep for three days, I still look like I haven't slept at all." _

Akira stripped the thin nightgown off of her thin frame Urahara put on her gigai when he put her shinigami soul in it. She turned on the water to the bath, her thoughts swarming in her head. As the water filled the tub, she looked into the mirror again to examine her wound. Her fingers traced the bandage that was tainted red that ran from her collarbone to her waist. Carefully, she removed the bandages and hissed. _"Damn thing is so tender!"_

_ "Don't worry Akira, he will pay." _The voice from her Zanpakutou tried to comfort her. She hmphed and hissed again as she peeled more off of her bandage. _"I haven't heard from you in a while Hikaru. What took you so long?"_

_"I was keeping you alive remember? It took me a while to recover the energy I spent. We don't do much fighting remember so im still a little weak."_

_"Right, sorry."_ Her tone was apologetic. _"Thanks for the help Hikaru."_

_"We will get him for what he has done." _His tone turned deadly. _"And he will pay with his life." _ His voice faded away thankfully because Akira didn't want to hear anymore. She sighed and turned off the hot water in the tub. _"A soak is just the thing I need." _She threw away the filthy bandages and slipped in the hot water, crying out as the hot water touched her wound. "It needs to soak, it needs to soak, owie, owie, owie, owie," She repeated over and over again as she submerged fully.

The pain subsiding, she leaned her head back and sunk into peaceful relaxation. Except her thoughts kept returning to the incident that she had put back in her mind: That one incident would shatter what she thought. She was betrayed by her closest friend and supposed ally. A tear rolled down Akira's face and her Zanpakutou wasn't helping things either by staying silent in his rage at Aizen. She felt the newly made hole her heart bared, and it would never go away. _"I will find him, and I will make him answer for what he has done." _The tears rolled down her face anyway.

Revenge didn't seem so sweet to her, it sounded more like torture.

(A/N: Oh noes! It looks like revenge? Thanks for reading my new story Akira! I already have a couple chapters on the way! Look forward to it!)

-Becky-


	2. Aftermath

Akira Chapter 2

Aftermath

Akira sighed as she leaned over the side of the tub, tracing patterns in the ebony wood. Grimacing, Akira placed a head on her temple where a headache was forming, but almost immediately it was dampened by Hikaru's calming voice.

"_Do not worry Akira. I will protect you to the best of my ability."_ Akira smiled as she slowly got out of the tub.

"It's a good thing that you're such a good partner Hikaru." Akira mumbled as she grabbed a fluffy blue towel and wrapped it around her. She walked over to the bathroom counter and took another long look at her appearance, as if in contemplation.

Her long ebony hair flowed down her back, ending about in the middle. Dark circles caressed under her crystalline blue eyes, which were darkened in thought. Her elegantly shaped lips were turned in a frown upon looking on her long jagged scar, which was pink in healing.

"I'm such a mess." Akira whispered as she got dressed in her spare clothing that consisted of a pale crème tank top and blue jeans that were sitting in the lower bathroom cupboard. Exiting the bathroom, Akira headed over to the living room and sat down.

She put her elbow on the table and held her head. She stood up suddenly and looked at the time. _"Okay its 5:45 P.M. Time to say thank you to whom saved me." _Akira walked out of the kitchen and looked for Urahara. Instead, she ran into Tessai. "Hello Tessai!" Akira exclaimed happily.

"Hello Akira. Are you looking for Kisuke?" He enquired.

Akira nodded slowly. "Yeah, I was going to ask him about the people who saved me and where they live so I can say thank you to them."

Tessai nodded. "I'll be right back, please wait here so I can give you a list of people and where they live." He left the shop area. Akira sat down on a box that was in the corner, crossed her legs, and waited for Tessai to come back.

"_Now that I think about it, Tessai didn't tell me where Kisuke was." _Akira thought.

"_Maybe Tessai forgot." _Hikaru's soft voice flowed through her head.

_A_kira frowned. _"No, that can't be it since Tessai practically never forgets anything. And that usually includes knowing where his friend is. If anything, Kisuke is off being mischievous again." _Hikaru was silent as if contemplating his partner's words.

Tessai came back into the room, a list on white lined paper in his hands. "Here you go Akira, the names and addresses of the people who helped with your rescue and recovery."

Akira grabbed the list with a thank you.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Tessai grabbed a small grey phone from his pocket and gave it to Akira, who looked at it cautiously.

"I heard these things give you cancer or something Tessai." She held it with two fingers away from her body as if it was poisonous.

Tessai laughed. "I almost forgot how much you don't like technology Akira. Their numbers are also in that phone and if you get lost, call back here and I can help you out. Now shoo." Tessai led her to the door and with a small squeak from Akira, kicked her out of the shop door. "Have a good time!" Tessai called as Akira flew out of the door and landed very gracefully on her bum.

"Ouch, that freakin hurt!" Akira stood up and angrily shouted at the door. "Well is that how you treat friends now Tessai?" Akira turned around in a huff and looked at the crumpled up list.

"_It seems like he only treats you this way Akira." _Hikaru chuckled as Akira fumed in anger.

"_Well he'll see how I treat him when my foot is shoved so far up his bum that he won't see strait afterwards!" _Akira's eye twitched as Hikaru continued to laugh.

Akira looked at the first name on the list. "Huh. It looks like the first name on this list is Ichigo Kurosaki." She gazed over the address on the list and headed towards the shop.

"_Ichigo Kurosaki. He sounds like a _punk _to me_." Hikaru mentioned. Akira laughed. _"You're scared of a punk strawberry?" _

Akira sniggered.

"_Shut up Akira."_

Their banter continued until they got to Ichigo's house. Akira couldn't stop laughing as she walked down the street. "Ack!" Akira exclaimed as her scar throbbed with her excessive laughter.

She stopped and looked at the house- then the list- then back at the house again. "This is the Kurosaki clinic right?" Akira mumbled as Hikaru fumed in her head.

"Old man! STOP TRYING TO PUNCH ME WHEN I'M TRYING TO DO ANYTHING!" Yelling filled the air as Akira approached the clinic. A man with orange colored hair grumbled as he kicked the door open. However, he seemed to have kicked it with extreme force and sent it flying across the yard.

"_It looks like that door is headed our way Akira."_

Akira chuckled and drew Hikaru. "Ready…" The door got closer. "Set…" Akira was prepared as the door seemed to be flying towards them in slow motion. "GO!" Akira drew her sword that was strapped to her waist and chopped the door in half. Akira sheathed her sword quickly.

The poor defeated door landed in two clean halves behind her in the road. Akira appeared unharmed in the process. _"Nice job Hikaru!" _Akira mentally gave her zanpakutou a high five.

Akira smiled and sheathed her zanpakutou in a fluid motion. Ichigo stood there in shock. Akira walked up to Ichigo and his dad stood beside him, his mouth wide open. "Hello Ichigo!" Akira waved at him.

Ichigo coughed. Akira frowned, wondering what he meant. "Wow Ichigo! You were so powerful that the door flew off and was cut clean in half!" His dad jumped up and down and clapped his son on the back. "GOOD JOB SON!"

Akira sweat dropped at Ichigo's dad and his ineptness. Ichigo's dad noticed Akira. "Who's this young lady come to see you Ichigo? Is my son finally growing up?"

"Time to go!" Ichigo exclaimed and ran down the street, grabbing Akira and dragging her along with him. He ran down a couple blocks and suddenly stopped. Unfortunately for Ichigo, Akira didn't stop moving and crashed into Ichigo. This caused them to gracefully land in a clump on the ground.

"OH GAWD THAT FREAKING HURT!" Akira exclaimed, sitting up. Akira glared at Ichigo.

"Get off of me your squishing me!" Ichigo exclaimed. Akira snorted and got off of Ichigo and offered him a hand to get up. He dusted himself off.

"Sorry Ichigo." She said sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "Buuuuttt, I wanted to say thank you for saving me a couple of days ago." Ichigo scoffed.

"It was nothing." He said as a blush creeped up his neck to sit in his ears and in his cheeks. Akira smiled and waved.

"Well now that I've said thanks it's off to find another person to say thank you to. Ichigo grabbed the list out of her hand.

"Hey!" Akira exclaimed as Ichigo took the paper.

"I was reading that!"

"I know all these people you know. I can lead you to them." He said already walking in some direction to someone's house that she didn't know.

"Hey!" Akira exclaimed again as she caught up to Ichigo. "Where are we headed Ichigo?" Akira asked as they walked along the road.

"We are going to Inoe's place." Ichigo simply replied as he put his hands in his pockets and started to slouch-walk.

Akira giggled at the way Ichigo was walking.

"What?" Ichigo said as he looked at Akira with a frown. Akira laughed again.

"It's just… You look so broody the way you're walking!" Akira giggled yet again as Ichigo sputtered his response.

"N-no I'm not!" He replied, his face blushing again.

"Aw! You're too cute!" Akira responded as she twirled around. Just when Ichigo was going to make a comeback they both froze. Akira placed a hand on her Zanpakutou, suddenly alert.

"You feel that Ichigo?" Akira said, her eyes searching for the source of the strange disturbance. Ichigo nodded and looked around nervously. "Oh, Right! I'm such a dummy. There's no way you can fight this thing without Rukia's help. Go back and see if you can get her. I'll try to hold whatever it is off." Ichigo nodded; a determined look in his eyes.

"Don't die." He said as he ran back towards the direction of his house. Cautiously, Akira shifted her eyes from left to right, trying to discern where the mysterious presence was coming from.

"Ooo look what I found Eet! I found a shinigami!" A shrill voice called out somewhere to Akira's left. She angled her body towards the voice. "You're right Aat. She smells tasty." A deep rumbling voice called to Akira's right, causing her to center herself between the two voices.

"Show yourselves!" Akira called out, wary of their invisibility. "You hear that Eet?" The deep voice chuckled. "The little shinigami wants us to show ourselves."

The shrill voice laughed. "Then let's not keep her waiting!" Two hollow appeared before her, ready to strike. Just before Akira was attacked she cartwheeled out of the way of their claws. Akira landed and drew Hikaru with a flash of light, blinding the two hollows. They thrashed around, screaming.

When the light cleared, Akira finally got a good look at the two hollows, who were still thrashing about. One was pure white except for two red lines going down its mask. The other was the darkest shade of ebony except for two yellow lines going down its mask.

The one who was pure black had its mask in the shape of a raven's skull. Akira noted with a side glance that the one that was pure white had its mask in the shape of a cat's skull. Akira grimaced and placed her hand over her scar that was irritated at her extreme move earlier. _"We need to finish this quick Hikaru; I don't know how much more I can take."_

_ "Then release me Akira, do it now because the effect is wearing off!" _ Akira nodded and closed her eyes. "Reflect the light of my soul, Hikaru Wakahisa!" Akira's zanpakutou suddenly transformed into its shikai form. She held it in front of her, the blade pointing in the middle of the two Hollow. A blue ribbon wrapped around the hilt, and the blade seemed to catch the light from the sun's rays.

"Attack the shinigami!" Before they could lunge and attack her, Akira took a deep breath. "Solar flare!" Akira shouted as she slashed her sword at the two charging hollows. A wave of fire launched off her sword and tried to cut the two hollows in half. Akira frowned as they disappeared once more.

"Show yourselves!" Akira called out as she slowly looked around the area.

"You hear that Aat? She wants us to show ourselves again!"

A deep rumbling laugh chilled her to the core. "You're right Eet. Shall we play with her a little longer?" Replied the deep voice of Eet.

"_Ichigo better get his damn ass back here before I murder him myself!" _Akira thought as she cautiously moved backwards, her sword pointed in front of her.

"_Don't try and take any sudden movements that can aggravate your wound further Akira."_

"_Don't you think I know Hikaru?" _Akira frowned.

"_Watch out Akira!" _Hikaru cried out as Eet attacked Akira with a Slash from its claws. Akira blocked it with her sword.

"You want to play shinigami?" Said the white hollow, chuckling.

Grimacing, Akira countered his attack with a downward slash from her zanpakutou, a brilliant ark of crimson fire coming off of her blade. _"Behind you!"_

Akira heard it a little too late. "Ack!" Akira cried out as she was clawed from behind while distracted with the other hollow. She fell to the ground, her zanpakutou landing a couple of feet away.

"See that Eet! I did it! I got the Shinigami!" Akira groaned and coughed up blood.

The two hollow laughed as the loomed over the fallen shinigami. "Kill her now! KILL HER NO-"

"Akira! Are you okay?" A male voice caught Akira's attention and she turned her head to glance at Ichigo and Rukia. Rukia nodded at Akira as she noticed that Ichigo was in his shinigami form.

Eet and Aat laughed in glee at the new prey that appeared before them. "What did you do to Akira!" Ichigo looked pissed.

Unknowing to the two hollow, Akira slowly got her zanpakutou and managed to stand up. Noticing that the hollow's attention was on Ichigo and Rukia, she saw it as the perfect time to strike. "Solar FLARE!" Akira cried out as she once again attacked the two hollow.

The hollow cried out as they were destroyed. Akira fell to her knees and sheathed her zanpakutou. "Akira!" Cried Rukia as she ran to Akira's side with Ichigo.

Akira shook her head. "Phew. A little too close for comfort you think?"

Rukia smacked the back of Akira's head.

"Ow! What'd you do that for!" Akira frowned at Rukia.

Rukia looked offended. "That's for taking them on in your recovering condition idiot!"

Akira waved a hand at Rukia. "Yeah, yeah, I won't do it again." She managed to stand some effort.

Akira looked at Ichigo. "Let's go to Orihime's."

Ichigo frowned. "What about your wound?"

Akira sighed. "Orihime can heal this yes? It's not that deep. Not like my other wound anyway. It shouldn't be such a strain on her. Even she couldn't heal it correctly, and that's when she has received no training with it."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "And how do you know Orihime's powers are untrained?"

"Because," Akira placed a hand on her hip. "I could tell when she was healing me that her powers had just appeared recently. It showed."

Akira motioned to the road ahead of her. "Come on; let's go to Orihime's."

XXXXX

"Hey guys!" Inoe Orihime exclaimed as she opened the door to let Akira, Rukia, and Ichigo inside her small apartment. Ichigo was the first inside.

"Hey Inoe." Ichigo said as he entered first. Akira smiled softly.

"Hey." She said as she entered after Ichigo. Rukia nodded and smiled at Orihime as she entered the apartment after Akira.

Closing the door, Orihime ushered them over to the table where Ishida sat. "U..Uryuu." Ichigo muttered as he spotted the Quincy. Akira blinked. Uryuu stood up from the table quickly, adjusting his glasses.

"Thank you for the tea Orihime." He muttered as he walked out of the apartment quickly. "Well… There goes that thank you." Akira muttered under her breath as Ichigo frowned. Orihime nervously laughed. "Tea?"

XXXXX

"Thanks for healing my wound Orihime." Orihime practically beamed at Akira.

"Thanks, Akira-chan!" Orihime smiled. "I'm sorry I can't heal your other wound correctly yet. I should be better but…"

"Don't worry about it Orihime. You'll get better with time." Akira smiled. "Oh! By the way, thanks for your help healing me Orihime. I know it must have been such a strain on you." Akira nodded at Orihime, who was sitting across from Akira at the table.

Orihime smiled. "I did what I could to help." Akira took another sip of her wasabi tea and tried not to gag. "Well, thank you anyway Orihime. It's a shame that I never got to thank Uryuu.

"Don't worry about it, he will come back eventually." Ichigo said.

"Okay." Akira nodded slowly. "Thanks guys, for everything." Akira said as she stood up from the table.

"I have to get going now though, I have to go back to the Soul Society before it's too late." Akira bowed and ran out the door. Akira ran to Urahara's to get out of her gigai and go to the soul society.

xXXXXxxx

"Akira." Urahara said as Akira ran into the shop. "Hello, Kisuke." Akira nodded at Urahara.

"Akira, before you go take this small pill here and swallow it." Akira narrowed her eyes as she stared at the small green pill that sat in Urahara's outstretched hand.

"This isn't going to do anything to me is it?" Akira questioned as Urahara laughed.

"No Akira, it's only going to put a fake soul into your body so you won't have to worry about it. Plus on the bright side you won't have to use those old pills to get your shinigami soul out of your gigai anymore." Urahara placed the pill into Akira's open hand.

Akira glanced at it and sighed. "Okay." She swallowed it and suddenly was in her shinigami soul, her gigai standing next to her. It waved. "Be careful Akira!" Akira's eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Um… Right. Okay, take care of my body?" Akira's gigai body smiled and nodded her head. Akira shivered. "It's a little too cheery for my tastes." Hikaru laughed .

"What are you going to do now?" Urahara questioned as Akira sighed. Somehow she had a feeling that he knew already.

"I'm going back to the Soul Society. I need to warn them of this development. I don't want any of them to get hurt by him, especially Lieutenant Hinamori."

Urahara was silent as if contemplating her decision. "He will have some trick up his sleeve." Suddenly, Urahara changed topics before Akira could respond. "What about your wound. Is it any better?"

Akira gave him a look as she gently placed a hand over her healing wound. "It is bearable. Hikaru is helping me by numbing the pain a little." Akira smiled fondly. "He can be a sweetheart sometimes." She chuckled.

Urahara pulled out his fan. "Then be careful Akira. I have a feeling something is going to happen." Akira looked at Urahara. "I will be. If anything happens I'll contact you." Akira pulled out a communication device from beneath her robes.

"You gave me this remember?" She smiled.

"Still, be careful Akira. I don't want you to get hurt again. If something happens, contact me and we will rescue you."

Nodding as she opened a portal to the soul society, she jumped through with her hell butterfly. She hoped it wasn't too late to warn them.

Yoruichi silently entered the room and sat next to Urahara. "You know what's going to happen as soon as she gets there right? Aizen won't hold back. He will find a way to get her, just as he found a way to banish you. Nothing will stand between him and his goals."

Urahara nodded. "I know." He smiled. "That is why we will be ready to get her when he does."

Meanwhile, Akira was racing towards the soul society. _"Please, let me be in time!" _Somewhere in the pit of her stomach, a bad feeling brewed.

xxxXxxx

Somehow, Akira's bad feelings always seemed to be right.

END CHAPER 2

xxxxx

Thanks for reading! I'm really sorry that this chapter didn't get released sooner, but between life changes and school I rewrote this whole chapter at least 5 times before I was moderately fine and posted it.

Thanks again for reading my late chapter =d

-Becky-


	3. Warn the Soul Society! Rukia kidnapped?

Akira, Chapter 3

Warn the soul society! Rukia Kidnapped?

Akira Disclaimer...

(I do not own bleach or anything except Akira, Hikaru , and Shiho, I also am NOT making any money from this by the way.)

xXX

Akira emerged from the other side of the gate into soul society outside the fourth squad barracks. Looking around, she cautiously walked forward, alert to any danger that might appear. No sooner then she had taken 10 steps; guards suddenly appeared and surrounded her. Alarmed and shocked, Akira put a hand on her Zanpakutou.

"What's going on? I've done nothing to warrant such action towards me." Akira looked around warily at the men who were looking at her with frightened eyes, others glared at her with hate. _"We knew this would happen Akira. Play along with them for now."_ Akira frowned as SoiFon; the captain of squad 2 walked stealthily through the guards and stopped in front of Akira, one hand on her zanpakutou.

She pointed an accusing finger at Akira. "By the order of head captain Yamamoto, you are to be brought in for questioning by suspicion of conspiracy with Kisuke Urahara." She got in her battle stance. "Surrender now, or die!"

Akira took a step back, only to feel the sharp end of a zanpakutou through her shihakusho. She looked back behind her to see a familiar face glaring back at her, his amber eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Shiho, you too huh." She gave him a sad smile.

She looked at the ground and held up her hands in defeat. "Alright, take me in." She grabbed Akira and shackled her hands behind her back after the other shinigami backed off. Smirking, SoiFon leaned forward to whisper something in Akira's ear.

"Pity, it would have been fun if you actually put up a fight." Akira laughed; SoiFon's breath tickled her ear.

"Wouldn't it have been a disappointment to be beaten, SoiFon?" Akira mumbled back at SoiFon, smiling as SoiFon roughly lead Akira away to the Head Captain's meeting. Akira could only speculate what would happen to her.

"_Now we can know what Aizen's been up to while we've been gone." _Hikaru said softly. Akira sighed as she was led by a very pissed off SoiFon.

"_Hopefully it won't be anything that bad." _Akira thought back at him. She heard Hikaru sigh. _"Knowing Aizen… I just know it's something more then he's showing."_ Akira shivered.

Suddenly the aspect of Aizen not doing anything that bad seemed farther from the truth. A cold chill creeped down her back as she recalled the moment he cut her down. The look in his eyes was that of a cold, calculated killer hell bent on ruling the Soul Society and sacrificing the lives of Karakura town to fit his own ends. Nothing would stand in his way.

Suddenly Akira was very frightened of the man she once called 'friend.'

xXXx

"Akira Yoshi has been detained! Her fate will be decided when she gets here." Yamamoto's voice called out over the room full of waiting captains of the Gotei 13. Ukitake Jushiro was worried about his subordinate. Shunsui Kyoraku elbowed Ukitake in the ribs.

"Don't worry, Akira can handle herself." He whispered, trying to comfort his longtime friend. Ukitake nodded solemnly. Before Ukitake could answer Shunsui, the doors opened and Akira was lead to the front of the room, the captain's eyes on her. SoiFon gladly yanked Akira across the room. Akira's eyes briefly caught Aizen's and he smiled. Akira shivered.

"_Can I kill him now? Please Akira? With a cherry on top?"_

"_As much as I want to oblige that notion, we have to figure this out."_

"_Aye-aye." _Hikaru snorted.

Glaring at SoiFon as she sauntered away with a smile, Akira stood before the legend himself, Head captain Yamamoto. Before she could look at the encouraging face of her captain, (He was always encouraging her,) the head captain's booming voice called out her fate.

"Akira Yoshi! By conspiring with and helping Kisuke Urahara conspire against the Soul society, with whom you have pledged to serve with your life, the punishment for treason is death!" Akira fell to her knees as everything fell silent. _"No! This can't be how it ends!" _Her zanpakutou growled.

"_This is exactly what Aizen wanted Akira! He couldn't kill you, so he had someone do it for him!" _

"Head Captain! I implore you to reconsider!" Akira looked with shocked eyes at her captain, Ukitake. He stood defiant, ready to defend his comrade and friend. "Akira has served faithfully all these years! Why would she have be-"

"That is enough! It has already been decided!"

Akira met the eyes of her shocked commander and whispered. "I'm sorry." Ukitake frowned and stood back in line, and Shunsui laid a hand on his shoulder to comfort his long-time friend.

Shunsui gave a solemn nod at Akira as she turned around. _"She's my friend too." _Shunsui gave an uncharacteristic frown.

Akira looked for the inner strength to defend herself before it was too late. _"Hikaru, give me strength to stand strong." _She mentally pleaded with Hikaru.

He scoffed. _"Why do you have to? I'm right here. Knock em' dead Akira!" _

Akira gave a small smile and stared the head-captain in the eyes. _"You've been listening to too many action flicks Hikaru." _

Akira's voice called out, shaky but holding strong. All eyes were on here as she tried to decide her own fate. "How have I been accused of this false crime? I have not done anything wrong! I have served faithfully and fully all these years. Have I not taught hundreds of academy students? Have I not fought beside my captain and my comrades with everything we had to exterminate the hollo-"

Her chance was cut short. "SILENCE!" Yamamoto cut off Akira. "By conspiracy with Kisuke Urahara in the holofication experiment and endangering the lives of fellow shinigami, you have no say in this decision. There is unyielding evidence that shows you are guilty!"

He paused and stared into Akira's eyes, the fire behind them smoldering out her soul. She was frozen, unable to move. Her eyes were wide with shock and awe. Yamamoto was not pleased. "You are lucky, Akira Yoshi. You are lucky in which you didn't have to be brought in front of the central 46 yourself. By my request you were brought to me to be told of your decision only because you have served faithfully all these years."

He seemed to want to sigh, but he couldn't show weakness in front of his subordinates. Head captain Yamamoto was a proud man. Akira closed her eyes and took deep breaths to calm her rapidly beating heart. "As decided by the central 46, you are to be executed by this time tomorrow." Akira's eyes opened wide as she gaped at Yamamoto.

"E…Executed… She whispered softly."

"Take her Zanpakutou and bring her to the holding cells!" Akira was backed into a corner, so she did the only thing she wanted to do since coming back to the Soul Society. She had nothing else to loose. She confronted the demon.

Hikaru was furious, but she couldn't use him now. She couldn't fight with her zanpakutou, her hands were tied. Her spirit raged.

Akira flung herself at Aizen. "You traitor! What have you done? I trusted you!" Tears flew down her face as she yelled at Aizen who just stared at her calmly. "I called you a friend!"

"Bakudo number nine, Geki." Akira crumpled to the ground, to upset to actually fight the low level spell. Aizen calmly looked down at her from behind his glasses. "Take the traitor away!" Yamamoto calmly looked on. Akira was dragged away with SoiFon at the lead as Aizen softly smiled. The doors closed with a loud bang.

"You're dismissed!"

xXxxxxxXx

Akira sat in her cell, her Zanpakutou missing. She missed his calming voice. She looked out of the small window at the sky. _"What will happen… Oh yeah, execution. Is this what he was planning when I got here? Did he know that I was going to survive? Why didn't he kill me in the first place then?"_

She punched the hard surface she was sitting on with her fist. _"I don't have answers! This isn't the guy I grew up with!" _She shook her head sadly.

"Akira." She looked up and walked over to the bars to meet her captain, Ukitake.

"Forgive me. I… I didn't do anything." Akira said softly as she stared at him. Ukitake nodded.

"I believe you." Akira smiled softly.

"I knew you would, Captain." Akira chuckled. It was a grimace of a laugh. _"Now's the time to tell him."_

"Captain I… Have something to say-" Akira started to speak, but before she could finish a man interrupted them.

"By all means, go ahead, Akira." Akira froze, her eyes widening as her heart raced. A cold tremor ran through her as Aizen came into view. Her nerves felt as if they were on fire.

Ukitake frowned upon seeing the reaction Akira had. _"Why is she scared of him? What was with that outburst at the trial earlier?" _Things were not what they seemed. _"Weren't they best friends?" _Something wasn't adding up right. Ukitake stared at Aizen, then Akira.

"_If they're best friends, why is she so scared?" _Ukitake stayed by Akira's side and waited for Aizen to make his next move. Aizen looked at Ukitake as Akira scrambled away to stand by the window in the back, the sunlight casting shadows over her face.

"Captain, Ukitake." Aizen nodded at Ukitake. Aizen played the role of a perfect shinigami captain well. "Could you give us a little time to chat?" Ukitake nodded.

"Of course. Don't take too long, we have limited time to visit after all." Ukitake turned to leave. A voice called out to Ukitake. He froze. "Don't leave me here with him! Don't leave me here with that monster!" Ukitake was shocked.

"Aizen, why is Akira telling me to not leave her alone with you?" Ukitake questioned, wondering if he could make sense of what was going on. Aizen shook his head as he walked away. As he walked past Ukitake he paused to look back at him.

"The ramblings of a traitor maybe? Who knows?" Aizen walked out of the cell calmly, leaving a confused Ukitake in his wake.

Akira ran up to the bars and stared at Ukitake. "Thanks for –"

"Your time is up; leave before the crazy lady bites you or something." Ukitake frowned

"_They think she's crazy?" _He wondered as he slowly walked away from a silent Akira. As the doors closed behind him, He paused and looked back to where Akira was being held.

"_What is going on?"_

xXxxxxXx

Sometime later, Akira sat on the small hard surface near the window again. She was deep in thought when a whisper came to her right. She looked and outside of the cell sat a black cat. Yoruichi set down Akira's Zanpakutou. "Akira."

Akira couldn't believe that Yoruichi came to save her. "Yes, I'm here to rescue you, let's go! When you didn't respond on the communicator we decided something was wrong and we came to get you! Let's go home. Standing, Akira walked over to the bars.

"Okay."

xxXxxxxXxx

After arriving back in the real world, Akira explained what happened with drab detail and went to go rest. Urahara sighed and sat down next to Yoruichi. "She's been asleep for a while now."

"It's understandable Kisuke. She was ordered to be executed by the place that was her home. Also, she was betrayed by her supposed best friend." Urahara sighed.

"I guess this means that she will want answers."

"Damn right I do! Explain what happened. I deserve at least that much!" Akira sat down across from Kisuke and Yoruichi. "Please." Akira added silently while staring at the tabletop. She was back in her gigai, dressed in a casual black tank top and black shorts with gold stars.

"I went to the soul society to warn them. They captured and imprisoned me with the intent to kill based on the existence of your exile and I am just a little confused. What is this whole experiment thing and what happened?"

Urahara stared back at her, his mood solemn. "You do deserve some answers Akira. And for everything that has happened, I am truly sorry. This is why I ran away from the soul society all those years ago and never told you about it." Urahara took a deep breath and continued.

"I was working on a new device back when I was captain of the 12th division. What I was working on was called the Hogyoku. This device could push a shinigami past his limits. A shinigami could then reach a new form of power. It was never fully tested. There was an outbreak of shinigami disappearances. What was different about all this was that only their clothes remained, but the people were gone."

Urahara took a sip of his tea before continuing. "When there were people sent out to investigate, multiple shinigami were sent. When they arrived, they were attacked. Aizen inflicted them with holofication, turning them against each other with the Hogyoku. I arrived too late with Tessai; they were already undergoing the process of holofication. When I confronted Aizen, he got away. I took them to the 12th division barracks, where I tried to save them using the Hogyoku, but it failed." Urahara paused, looking over to Yoruichi. She nodded, and he continued.

"The next day, we were arrested under orders from the central 46. Like you, we had clearly been set up by Aizen, who was trying to get rid of us. We were sentenced. As you know Akira, I was exiled to the real world. Tessai was sentenced to imprisonment. Before anything could happen, we were rescued by Yoruichi here."

"We were then brought to a secret underground area where there waited the hollowfied shinigami, along with my prototype gigai. I then resolved to take them to the real world, where we could find a way to undo the holofication process." Urahara sighed.

"And there you have it."

Akira frowned, looking at the table top, her eyes clouded and stormy as if in thought. "Thank you for telling me Kisuke." She stood up, heading to the door. "I'm going to need some time alone. I hope you can understand." Akira pulled on her sneakers and headed out the door.

Urahara sighed and looked at Yoruichi. "Now we will see what happens next, eh Yoruichi?"

She snorted. "You didn't exactly tell her the whole story Kisuke."

"Yep."

xXxxXxx

Akira sat on the roof of Urahara's shop, absorbed in her thoughts. "So this whole time… He was evil?" She whispered softly. "Don't let it bother you too much Akira. It is done and over with. He will pay with his life soon enough."

Akira sighed and played with her shoelace. Akira looked up at the sky as a raindrop hit her in the face. "It's going to rain? Well that's fan-tabulous."

Suddenly, Akira paused from her thoughts, her eyes widening in shock as she felt a spike in spiritual pressure from more than one person. "Hikaru, do you feel that? I think Rukia and Ichigo are in danger!" Hikaru was silent, as if assessing the situation.

"It feels like there are two others with them. One seems to be of captain level, the other seems to be a Lieutenant level." Akira jumped off the building and ran inside the shop.

"Kisuke! Ichigo and Rukia are in trouble! I need to go and see if everything is okay.

Urahara casually walked into the room. "You have your candy yes?" Akira nodded.

He got his fan out and hid his face behind it. "Then be carefuuulll!"

Akira raised an eyebrow as she popped the candy into her mouth and the artificial soul took over. Akira adjusted her shihakusho. "Be carreefuull Akkiirraa!" The artificial soul that inhabited her body winked at her. Akira shuddered and pointed at her gigai.

"Will you please come up with better artificial souls? That thing is creepy!"

xXxxxXx

Akira jumped along the rooftops of Karakura town, heading towards the direction of Ichigo, Rukia, and the two other shinigami. "Be careful Akira, something feels off here. Rukia's spiritual pressure has been weak ever since we've been back in contact with her. Something smells very fishy."

Akira crinkled her nose. "I didn't know Zanpakutou spirits could smell." Hikaru laughed.

"You'd be surprised at a lot of things we can do Akira."

Akira found what she was looking for and landed in front of Rukia. "Rukia, are you alright?" Akira looked at her friend with concerned eyes. Rukia's eyes widened before watering up. "Y…Yeah."

"It seems we have a traitor in our midst. So this is where you've run off to? You're a disgrace to the 12th squad Akira Yoshi." Akira slowly turned to face the speaker.

"It's nice to see you again, Byakuya Kutchiki. It's rather too bad that we've met again und- "Akira froze upon seeing Ichigo's battered body on the ground, his broken Zanpakutou accompanying him. "What have you done?" Akira took her stance.

"I merely severed his soul chain and soul sleep. He won't be a shinigami any longer." Byakuya looked down at the injured struggling body of Ichigo as Ichigo grabbed Byakuya's leg.

"You… Can't… Take her! I will protect Rukia!" Byakuya's eyes widened in shock.

"You shouldn't be able to move. How dare you touch me with your filthy hands." Byakuya stepped on Ichigo's head."

"Stop now Byakuya if you know what is good for you." Akira growled, placing a hand on her Zanpakutou. "I will not hesitate to cut down even a captain like you." Rukia placed a hand over Akira's hand that was on her sword.

"Please Akira… Don't hurt my brother. I will go back with my brother and Renji to the Soul Society to await my judgment." Renji appeared beside Rukia and grabbed Rukia's arm, flash stepping them next to Byakuya, whose foot was still on Ichigo's head. Akira growled, irritated beyond belief.

"What the hell Rukia! This isn't like you to give up! And you!" Akira pointed at Byakuya. "Get your big ass foot off of Ichigo!" Akira drew her sword and attacked Byakuya. He flash stepped with Renji and Rukia away from the face down Ichigo, whom of which was still trying to struggle to get up.

"That's enough Akira! Let me go with them! You'll get hurt!" Rukia cried out. Akira froze and sighed and sheathed her sword.

"Fine. You'll go with them for now. But don't expect me to sit here after you go back." Akira motioned to Ichigo. "And especially when they've hurt one of my friends, and you." Akira snorted as the gate behind Byakuya and Renji opened. Renji looked at Akira.

"I'm sorry Akira, but orders are orders." Akira narrowed her eyes at Renji's comment.

"But are you sure that those orders are where they are coming from?" Akira said as they went through the gate. Right before the door closed, Rukia looked back one last time, her mouth forming the words, I'm sorry.

Almost immediately Ichigo cried out Rukia's name as Akira tried to calm him down. "Ichigo, stop! You've lost a lot of blood! You'll hurt yourself further!" Ichigo slapped Akira's hand away. "I don't care! You could have saved her!" His voice trailed off as Akira punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow, what the hell was that for!" Ichigo cried out in pain. "It's hard enough to breathe without you hurting me!"

"Don't you think I would have saved her if I had the chance to?" Akira whispered as Ichigo grew silent at her words. He started to cough up blood. Akira grimaced as she rolled Ichigo over so he could breathe better.

"I'm sorry, Ichigo. I don't know much first aid." Ichigo coughed some more as his eyes started to unfocus more. "Damnit Ichigo! Hold on, I don't need you to die on me! Rukia would murder me!" Ichigo grimaced as Akira stood up. "You might be a little heavy, but I could carry your sorry ass."

Ichigo gave a grunt in reply. "I don't think that is necessary Akira." Akira turned around and nodded at Urahara.

"He needs help Kisuke. I don't think he will make it much longer." Kisuke walked over to Ichigo's unconscious body. "Let's get him to the shop; we can treat his wounds there." Akira nodded.

Ichigo needed help, she would worry about Rukia later.

XXxXX ENDCHAPTER XXxXX

Thank you to you guys who reviewed, you all made my day. Like... Really. And for you guys who have read and, (some of you who have reviewed,) I cranked this one out as soon as I could with school being a huge behind. Lucky day right? I hope you guys enjoyed it! It's a little longer then my last chapter too!

-Becky-


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